ST. MARY'S ORPHANAGE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2934, 8 June 1910, Page 14

ST. MARY'S ORPHANAGE.

A PROGRESSIVE WORK

The ninth annual meeting of the Church Mission and St. Mary's Orphanage was held on Tuesday, May 31, and attended by a large number of the clergy and laity. His Lordship the Primate (Bishop Nevill) pre-. sided. The Very Rev. the" Dean, Ven. Archdeacon Neild, Ven. Archdeacon Gould, the Rev. Canon Woodthorpe, and the Rev. H. Parata. were also present. Apologias were read from the Rev. Canon CurzonSiggers, the Rev. Canon King-, the Rev. Vincent King, his Worahio the Mayor oB Dunedin (Mr T. Cole), and "Mr W. Burnett. His Lordship the Primate, in the course/ of his address, laid especial stress on the 1 satisfactory manner in which the Church Mission and St. Mary's Orphanage were progressing. Great credit was due to 'he' Superior (Sister Ernestine), Sister Frances (probationer), and B. V. M'Haffie (resident teacher), the hon. collectors, and the assistants in the work.

Following is a summary of the annual report:—Church Mission work for 1909:: Parish work and sick visiting had been carried on» as usual. Members of the Girls' Friendly Society, being with one exception Presbyterians, had been handed to the kind care of Presbyterian workers. The mothers' meeting still occupied all Thursday afternoon. The services "of Missi Bray, by her removal to Wellington, had] been lost to the branch Sunday school. Miss Geddes had charge of the infants now. Of the children entered for the Sunday school teachers' examination five took prizes, and the remainder certificates and pasises. The Hospital and the gaol had been visited' as regularly as increasing claims from the home duties permitted. A carol service was held in the' gaol on Christmas Day. They were gratified to Mr Cumming for his arrangements, and to Misses Pyrke, Rehberg. Clarkson, Higginson, Peacock, Evans, Heath, and Trevethick, who came to sing. ST. MARY'S ORPHANAGE.

There were no radical changes to re- - port in the regime of the Orphanage. The staff was the same, and grateful thanks were due to Miss M'Haffie for her painstaking work in the schoolroom. Only two new children were admitted during 1909. The bill of health was a very satisfactory one. At the beginning of the year they were fortunate in securing the services of an experienced cook and laundress, who had taken a whole-hearted interest in training the children in domestic work. Of coarse, school lessons must take first place in a young child's life; still, their domestic training; can begin then, too, if the thing is managed wisely and consistently. Many kind friends had entertained the children this year —viz., Mesdames Morrell and Balk, Misses Allen and' Bray, and Messrs West and Fuller. The following kindly supplied clothes: Mr and Miss Baylis, Mrs Arundel, Missoa Allen, Allan (Mosgiel), Brodrick, Cox, and! Inglis, and Mr Hides. They would be glad of help with clothes for the email boys. Measurements would gladly be sent. "Next year (1911)-the lease of the present house will, expire, and long before that time it behoves the church people to decide whether they will erect a suitable andl durable Church Orphanage. It is of no use renting or buying residences which in the past have been fine houses. As welt one might take such a place for t hospital. They needed a p.roper locality, a building plain and substantial, with the most modern methods of ventilation and l sanitation, with a small isolation wing for sick children, a properly graded set_ of dormitories and single rooms, a fair-sizedi playground, a well-equipped laundry andl drying-ground, a cellar and storerooms commodious and convenient." Only those (the report continues) who live in the present Or/phamage can guess the discomfort of it. For instance, if a child is ill and a sister is sitting up at night, there is no means of shutting cut light and sound from the occupants of the other bedrooms, and for the watcher in the sickroom there is no gas—only a flickering! candle by which to do all the necessary, duties of the night nurse; and for* hotf water she must go downstairs and leave her patient, for there is no hot-water service upstairs, and no bedroom with a fireplace. These things alone should rouse us to a sense of the need for a new and) properly-equipped institution, apart from, the insanitary, tumble-down arpearanco of the church's present home for children and its entirely unsuitable locality. Once more it is our pleasant tasfc to tender our grateful acknowledgments to the manv friends who have helped us in money and) kind during the year. Our never-fail-ing gratitude goes out to Mr John Neville Ritchie for his continued good work on our behalf. Dr Stanley Batchelor still continues to show his kind' care towards the children. Miss Williams brought us, as in former year, £5 from the Ministering Children's League for a holiday treat fund, and the Orphans' Club sent £8 as part proceeds from their most successful concert. To his Lordship the Primate, the chaplain, and the various clergy who have taken service in our chapel we tender our sincere thanks. Archdeacon Gould moved the adoption of the report. The Archdeacon spoke in glowing terms of the forward movement which was bearing on the work of the mission. The premises were no longer adequate for the purposes of the work. 16 was necessary to have a new building- as soon as possible. The nucleus for the addition was already, he believed, in their hands. They had £l5O in the bank, and for the rest he thought they might rely upon outside help.—(Applause.) The report having been adopted, Mr J. N. Ritchie (hon. treasurer) spoke of ways and means. He would even be in favour of borrowing the money for new buildings. The interest thereon would not amount to what they paid in rent. The balance sheet showed a credit o£ £IOB 8s 9d'. The meeting closed with votes of thank®, and afternoon, tea was served at the Orphanage.